OR Manager - November 2018 - 19

Leadership
Managing Up
Continued from page 19
Sherman adds that lack of support
can happen for a variety of reasons; for
instance, the boss may lack the needed
skill set, or perhaps the chemistry between
you and your boss isn't there.
" You may need to talk [the situation]
through with someone who has
knowledge about expectations and can
ask questions to gain clarity, " she says.
" You want to make sure that your expectations
aren't too high and that you
aren't overreacting. "
If you aren't getting the support you
need, ask for it. Managers often feel
their bosses should know what they
need, Abbajay says. " Too often, we expect
our bosses to be mind readers.
We don't make effective requests. "
The key to asking for support is to
connect the request with the boss's
goals. Abbajay says an effective request
includes the following elements:
* what is needed (be specific)
* why it's needed
* what the benefits are (to the boss,
organization, patients, or others).
" Give the 'whys' behind your request, "
Abbajay says, adding that small
shifts of behavior can do much to improve
the relationship. For example,
she knows she is a fast talker, so she
consciously slows down when talking
with someone who communicates at
a slower pace. " It's the difference between
the golden rule [treating people
how you would like to be treated] and
the platinum rule [treating people how
they would like to be treated], " she
says.
If you aren't getting enough feedback,
ask for it. " Be proactive, " Sherman
says. " Communicate what you're
doing, and ask for feedback about your
performance. "
McLeod had a boss who was excellent
in many ways, but poor at giving
feedback, and she learned to ask for a
coaching meeting. She would say to her
boss: " Give me one thing that I need to
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work on at some level. "
It's also important to ask for support
for your own career development. Let
the boss know, for example, if you want
to continue moving up the leadership
ladder, and ask for advice on what action
you need to take to do so.
Challenging bosses
What if your boss engages in ineffective
or hurtful behavior? In this case,
you need to have a frank conversation
about the behavior with the boss. Jacek
shares her experience with a previous
manager. " She didn't have perioperative
experience, so she would try to
micromanage, " she says. The key was
to mentor the boss by helping her understand
that it was acceptable not to
know something, as long as she was
willing to learn.
Jacek also shared what the boss
was doing well. " We had a lot of conversations,
and eventually things got better.
She was more trusting. "
Unfortunately, some bosses don't
respond to feedback, no matter how
thoughtfully it's delivered. What should
you do in this situation?
Abbajay recommends considering
the organization's attitude toward poor
managers. " If you work for an organization
that doesn't hold managers accountable,
know that you can't change
the culture of your organization, you
can only change how you navigate and
respond to it, " she says.
Abbajay also offers the following
strategies:
* Appreciate the opportunity, and embrace
the challenge. " You will learn
and grow more from a difficult boss
than you ever will from a great or
easy boss, " she says. For example,
poor bosses can help you learn what
kind of leader you want to be.
* Identify the difficult behavior. Instead
of labeling the person as " difficult, "
identify the problematic behaviors
and develop strategies to
address them (sidebar at right).
* Assume positive intent to the best
The ghost boss
One challenging type of boss is the
" ghost boss " -someone who undermanages
or is often unavailable, perhaps
because of the time demands
of their jobs.
" The first thing to do with this boss
is not to make up a story about why
they do what they do, " says Mary Abbajay,
author of Managing Up: How to
Move up, Win at Work, and Succeed
with Any Type of Boss. Managers
might equate unavailability with disinterest,
which is unlikely to be true.
A better approach is to be proactive
in getting on the boss's calendar
for meetings. " They may cancel half
of them, but you still have the other
half, " Abbajay says. During a meeting,
be clear and succinct. For example,
say: " I need a sign-off on this
budget, " and put the form in front of
the boss.
Another tactic is to keep a list of
what is needed so that if the manager
encounters the boss in the hall, items
can quickly be checked off the list.
If the ghost boss isn't as available
to staff as needed, managers may
be able to persuade the boss by saying
something like: " It has been 2
months since you've joined us for a
staff meeting. Let's plan on you coming
to the next one. The staff really
value it when you come. "
For introverted bosses, it may help
if the manager offers to keep the
boss's appearance brief and helps
develop talking points.
These kinds of actions help both
the manager and the boss.
of your ability. Many difficult bosses
truly feel they are doing the right
thing in their role.
* Own your own rub. Some behaviors
are more difficult for us than others.
For instance, if you highly value your
Continued on page 23
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